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How Most People Interview All Wrong
Most people, when they prepare for the interview, dutifully research the company.
These are typically the two areas they cover in depth:
Company knowledge: Products, service lines, management, competition,growth trajectories, etc…
Self Knowledge: Resume details, CAR stories, work communication styles, and standard, behavioral and situational interview question preparation, etc…
Check.
Check.
And…
Check.
Then most people go on the interview and, like a strutting, proud peacock, answer questions demonstrating how much they know and accomplished, aiming to impress the interviewer.
They continue on asking questions about the job and the company that demonstrate they have done their homework and their interest in the role.
Nice little dialogue going.
Wrap up the interview with some good questions to ask, put a bow on it, and shake hands thanking the interviewer for their time.
Most candidates,at this point, are feeling good at this stage…
“I know I rocked this one…” they often think as they are exiting the building.
They write and send the thank you letter…
Still riding the wave of the enthusiasm high.
And, to sum up what happened next, I won’t keep you in suspense…
Nothing happened.
No call… No follow-up from the company for a few days…
And then the dreaded “thanks, but no thanks” letter comes.
What the heck happened?
The candidate is frustratingly thinking, “I prepped. I checked all the boxes (you saw me do it earlier) and I had a great interview… I just don’t get it.”
I know what happened.
The candidate showed… they didn’t tell.
They SHOWED how credentialed they were and their long list of past achievements.
And it is a mighty long list.
After all, they are good at their jobs, you know.
They SHOWED how much they knew about the company.
But they never brought those two bodies of knowledge together.
They never genuinely asked the questions about what pain the employer is experiencing currently and aiming to fix by making this hire…
So they never had the opportunity presented to TELL how they can remedy that pain.
Identify and address the pain point. <—this is why people interview all wrong.
They miss this incredibly crucial point.
Most candidates are so wrapped up in proving themselves as worthy and want to demonstrate their awesomeness that they fail to take the focus off themselves to discover what is the employer’s pain that needs to be addressed by making this hire.
Most candidates are focused on ‘am I good enough yet?’ vs. ‘how can I help you fix your problem?’
Getting to the pain takes more than asking, “Why is this job open?”
When a candidate feels they interviewed well but doesn’t get a call back, most of the time it’s because the candidate SHOWED well, but they didn’t quite nail TELLING the interviewer how their experience will address the employer’s pain.
We cover how to identify and address employer pain in an interview here.
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About Lisa
Lisa Rangel and The Chameleon Team are the only executive resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and job landing consultancy who has been hired by LinkedIn and recognized by Forbes. Our 4-Stage META Job Landing System stems from decades of corporate and executive recruiting experience to position you to land your next 6 or 7-figure role faster.
